Controlling collective synchrony in oscillatory ensembles by precisely timed pulses

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive feedback control method using precisely timed pulses to suppress synchrony in oscillatory ensembles, with potential applications in neuroscience and deep brain stimulation.

Contribution

It presents a novel adaptive control technique that minimizes intervention by stimulating only at the most sensitive phase of collective oscillations.

Findings

Efficient suppression of synchrony with few pulses per cycle.

Adaptive feedback accurately estimates the collective phase.

Potential applications in improving deep brain stimulation algorithms.

Abstract

We present an efficient technique for control of synchrony in a globally coupled ensemble by pulsatile action. We assume that we can observe the collective oscillation and can stimulate all elements of the ensemble simultaneously. We pay special attention to the minimization of intervention into the system. The key idea is to stimulate only at the most sensitive phase. To find this phase we implement an adaptive feedback control. Estimating the instantaneous phase of the collective mode on the fly, we achieve efficient suppression using a few pulses per oscillatory cycle. We discuss the possible relevance of the results for neuroscience, namely for the development of advanced algorithms for deep brain stimulation, a medical technique used to treat Parkinson's disease.